Storage components coated with aromatic encapsulates configured to release desired fragrances and/or chemicals

ABSTRACT

A storage component for a storage system generally includes at least one or more microcapsules applied to the storage component. The at least one or more microcapsules include an aromatic encapsulate configured to release a fragrance and/or chemical to thereby associate the fragrance and/or chemical with the storage component. And, a method for associating a fragrance and/or chemical with a storage component generally includes encapsulating at least one or more desired fragrances and/or chemicals in multiple microcapsules, and coating at least part of a storage component with the microcapsules. The encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals are configured to be released from the microcapsules to thereby associate the fragrances and/or chemicals with the storage component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/254,441, filed Oct. 23, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to storage components for use, for example, with closet storage systems, etc. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to storage components coated with aromatic encapsulates configured to release desired fragrances, chemicals, etc. from the storage components over time to thereby provide desired effects (e.g., olfactory characteristics, clothing protection, anti-fungal protection, etc.) to environments around the storage components and thus generally associate the desired fragrances, chemicals, etc. with the storage components.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Air fresheners are common devices used to improve and/or change the olfactory characteristics of environments such as bathrooms or wash closets, vehicles, lockers, drawers, closets, kitchens, etc. where little air circulation is present. Such air fresheners are typically placed (e.g., manually placed, mounted, etc.) within the desired environment to thereby improve and/or change the olfactory characteristics of the environment.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward storage components for storage systems. In one example embodiment, a storage component generally includes at least one or more microcapsules applied to the storage component, wherein the at least one or more microcapsules include an aromatic encapsulate configured to release a fragrance and/or chemical to thereby associate the fragrance and/or chemical with the storage component.

In another example embodiment, a wire storage component generally includes an aromatic powder coating. The aromatic powder coating includes multiple cedar oil emulsion microcapsules configured to release cedar chemicals and/or fragrances from the wire storage component to thereby associate the cedar fragrances with the wire storage component.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed toward methods for associating fragrances and/or chemicals with storage components. In one example embodiment, a method generally includes encapsulating at least one or more desired fragrances and/or chemicals in multiple microcapsules, and coating at least part of a storage component with the microcapsules. The encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals are configured to be released from the microcapsules to thereby associate the fragrances and/or chemicals with the storage component.

In another example embodiment, a method for associating a fragrance and/or chemical with a storage component generally includes encapsulating at least one or more desired fragrances and/or chemicals in multiple microcapsules. The microcapsules are suitable for coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules. The encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals are configured to be released from the microcapsules to thereby associate the fragrances and/or chemicals with the storage component.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire storage component for use with a closet storage system and coated with aromatic encapsulates configured to release a desired fragrance, chemical, etc. from the storage component over time; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a laminated shelf for use with a closet storage system and coated with aromatic encapsulates configured to release a desired fragrance, chemical, etc. from the storage component over time.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are generally directed toward storage components (e.g., shelves, hooks, bars, containers, etc.) used in storage systems (e.g., closet storage systems, drawer storage systems, kitchen storage systems, etc.) and configured to release desired fragrances, chemicals, etc. into environments around the storage components over time and/or provide protection to articles retained by the storage components (e.g., clothing, etc.) and/or provide desired effects to the environments around the storage components (e.g., anti-fungal protection, etc.). For example, the storage components can be coated with encapsulates having select encapsulated fragrances, chemicals, etc. that, when released from the encapsulates, provide a desired effect (e.g., olfactory characteristic, protective characteristic, etc.) to the environments around the storage components. The released fragrances, chemicals, etc. may provide, for example, protection to clothing stored in the storage components (e.g., via cedar chemicals for protecting clothing from insects such as moths, etc.); aromatherapy effects to the environment around the storage components (e.g., via citrus fragrances, lavender fragrances, etc.); air freshening effects to the environment around the storage components; other desired effects to the environment around the storage components (e.g., anti-fungal protection, etc.); etc. within the scope of the present disclosure.

With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an example storage component 100 including one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The illustrated storage component 100 forms part of a closet storage system and includes a wire shelf 102 and a rod member 104 connected thereto by multiple hooks 106. The wire shelf 102 generally includes multiple transversely extending wire members 110 (i.e., wire stringers in this example embodiment). The transversely extending wire members 110 are typically spaced to provide a ventilated structure for the wire shelf 102 while preventing relatively large items stored on the wire shelf 102 from passing between spaces between the transversely extending wire members 110.

The illustrated storage component 100 also includes four longitudinally extending support members 112, 114, 116, and 118. First, second, and third longitudinally extending support members 112, 114, and 116 generally support the wire members 110 of the wire shelf 102. The first longitudinally extending support member 112 is located toward a rearward end portion of the storage component 100 (e.g., closest to a wall on which the storage component 100 is mounted, etc.), the second longitudinally extending support member 114 is located toward a forward end portion of the storage component 100, and the third longitudinally extending support member 116 is located intermediate between the first and second longitudinally extending support members 112 and 114. A fourth longitudinally extending support member 118 is connected to the second longitudinally extending support member 114 generally below the second longitudinally extending support member 114 by vertically extending supports 120. And, the rod member 104 is connected to the wire shelf 102 by the hooks 106 via connection of the hooks 106 to the third and fourth longitudinally extending support members 116 and 118.

Other configurations and/or arrangements of the wire members 110 and/or support members 112, 114, 116, and 118 of the storage component 100 are possible as aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to any particular number, shape, size, and/or arrangement of wire members 110 and/or support members 112, 114, 116, and 118. For example, one or more additional longitudinally extending support members may be provided between the first, second, third, and/or fourth support members 112, 114, 116, and 118. In addition, spacing of the hooks 106 and/or the number of hooks 106 provided with the storage component 100 may be modified as desired, for example, based upon a desired storage component construction, etc.

In the illustrated embodiment, the storage component 100 generally includes a wire structure. In other example embodiments, storage components may include structures other than wire structures such as, for example, laminated storage structures (e.g., laminated shelves constructed from particleboard materials, etc.), fabric drawers, etc. In still other example embodiments, storage components may include combinations of wire structures, laminated structures, and/or fabric drawers. And, in still other example embodiments storage components may include any of a wide range of storage structures, such as storage components available from ClosetMaid and/or storage components disclosed in patents and/or patent applications assigned to ClosetMaid or Clairson, Inc.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the illustrated storage component 100 includes a coating 130 configured to release a desired fragrance, chemical, etc. over time to thereby provide a desired effect (e.g., olfactory characteristic, protective characteristic, etc.), etc. to an environment (e.g., air, etc.) around the storage component 100 and/or thus generally associate the fragrance, chemical, etc. with the storage component 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the coating 130 is applied (e.g., bonded, affixed, etc.) to exterior surfaces of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, rod member 104, and supports 120 of the storage component 100. And, the coating 130 covers substantially all of (e.g., substantially coats all of, etc.) the exterior surfaces of each of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, rod member 104, and supports 120 of the storage component 100. But the coating 130 could cover less than all of these exterior surfaces within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the coating 130 may be applied to only some of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, rod member 104, and/or supports 120 of the storage component 100 within the scope of the present disclosure.

The coating 130 of the illustrated storage component 100 includes a controlled release encapsulated powder (broadly, an aromatic powder) defined, for example, by multiple microcapsules (or micro-spheres) each encapsulating at least one or more desired aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc. (broadly, encapsulates). The aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc. are released from the microcapsules over time (e.g., providing time-released fragrances, chemicals, etc.) into the environment around the storage component 100 thereby generally associating the fragrances, chemicals, etc. with the storage component 100. The powder may be viewed as including the microcapsules. And, the storage component 100 may be understood to include an aromatic powder coating applied thereto.

The microcapsules (and thus the powder defined by the microcapsules) are formed from suitable materials including, for example, oil emulsions (e.g., fragrant oil emulsions such as cedar oil emulsions, etc.), etc. having desired fragrant characteristics (e.g., cedar fragrances, fruit fragrances (e.g., citrus, etc.), flower fragrances (e.g., lavender, etc.), etc.) and/or suitable for providing desired effects (e.g., protecting clothing from insects (e.g., cedar chemicals, etc.), providing anti-fungal protection, etc.). The microcapsules may be viewed as providing a protective membrane around the encapsulated core fragrances, chemicals, etc. As such, the microcapsules operate to control the rate of release of the core fragrances, chemicals, etc. from the storage component 100 into the environment around the storage component 100. For example, the microcapsules may operate to allow for a generally slow rate of release of the core fragrances, chemicals, etc. over time. The microcapsules may have any desired size and/or shape within the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the microcapsules are generally spherical in shape and may have diameters of, for example, about 20 micrometers. However, the microcapsules may have diameters greater than or smaller than about 20 micrometers and/or may have shapes other than spherical within the scope of the present disclosure. In other example embodiments, microcapsules may have diameters between about 20 micrometers and about 150 micrometers. In still other example embodiments, microcapsules may have diameters greater than about 150 micrometers.

The controlled release encapsulated powder can be applied to the exterior surfaces of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, rod member 104, and supports 120 of the storage component 100 generally at any time within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the powder can be applied to the exterior surfaces of the storage component 100 during manufacture of the storage component 100, during installation of the storage component 100, after installation of the storage component 100 (e.g., to virgin storage components already installed, etc.), etc. In addition, the controlled release encapsulated powder can be reapplied to the exterior surfaces of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, and/or rod member 104 of the storage component 100 as desired, for example, to refresh desired fragrances, chemicals, etc. as desired (e.g., at a time when a desired fragrance and/or chemical are depleted, etc.).

Further, the controlled release encapsulated powder can be applied to the exterior surfaces of the storage component 100 by any suitable coating operation within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the controlled release encapsulated powder may be sprayed onto, electrostatically applied to, wet sprayed to, etc. the exterior surfaces of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, and rod member 104 of the storage component 100 as desired. In addition, in the illustrated embodiment the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, rod member 104, and supports 120 of the storage component 100 each have a vinyl coating. Here, the controlled release encapsulated powder is applied generally over the vinyl coating. However, the controlled release encapsulated powder could alternatively be mixed with the vinyl coating (when forming the vinyl coating) and then applied together with the vinyl coating to the exterior surfaces of the wire members 110, support members 112, 114, 116, and 118, hooks 106, rod member 104, and supports 120 of the storage component 100 within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example embodiment of a storage component 200 including one or more aspects of the present disclosure. In this example embodiment, the storage component 200 includes a laminated storage shelf 240 (broadly, a laminated storage structure) having a coating 230 applied to its exterior surfaces and configured to release a desired fragrance, chemical, etc. from the storage component 200 over time (and/or thereby associate the desired fragrance, chemical, etc. with the storage component 200). The coating 230 is similar to the coating 130 previously described (e.g., in connection with FIG. 1, etc.). For example, the coating 230 includes a controlled release encapsulated powder defined, for example, by multiple microcapsules each encapsulating at least one or more desired aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc. The aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc. are released from the microcapsules over time into the environment around the storage component 200 thereby generally associating the fragrances, chemicals, etc. with the storage component 200.

In this example embodiment, the controlled release encapsulated powder can be applied to the exterior surfaces of the storage component 200 by any suitable coating operation within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the controlled release encapsulated powder may be wet sprayed onto the exterior surfaces of the storage component 200. The controlled release encapsulated powder may be mixed with an epoxy and applied electrostatically to the exterior surfaces of the storage component 200.

An example operation for associating a desired fragrance, chemical, etc. with a storage component (e.g., a wire shelf, a laminated shelf, etc.) will be described next. Aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc., for example, are encapsulated within microcapsules thus forming a controlled release encapsulated powder having the desired fragrances, chemicals, etc. (broadly, aromatic encapsulates) associated therewith. The controlled release encapsulated powder is applied to (e.g., sprayed onto, electrostatically applied to, etc.) the exterior surfaces of the storage component such that at least part of the storage component is coated with the powder (i.e., as a coating). The microcapsules holding the core aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc. operate to control the rate of release of the aromatic fragrances, chemicals etc. into the environment surrounding the storage component. As such, the aromatic fragrances, chemicals, etc. may be released from the coating of the storage component, as desired, over time (e.g., generally slowly over time, etc.) such that the fragrances, chemicals, etc. provide a desired effect (e.g., olfactory characteristic, protective characteristic, etc.), etc. to the environments around the storage component and/or are thus generally associated with the storage component.

It should be appreciated that at least one or more different fragrances, chemicals, etc. can be associated with the storage components (e.g., 100, 200, etc.) of the present disclosure as desired in accordance with the present disclosure. As such, storage components can be customized as desired to provide desired effects (e.g., olfactory characteristics, protective effects, etc.), etc. to the environments around the storage components (e.g., cedar scents to protect clothing from moths, etc.; lavender scents to provide aromatherapy effects; citrus scents to provide air freshening effects; chemicals to provide anti-fungal protection effects; other scents and/or chemicals to provide other desired effects; etc.). For example, end users and/or customers can select desired effects prior to purchasing the storage components. The storage components can thus be coated with the controlled release encapsulated powder and then sold to the end user and/or customer.

Specific dimensions, sizes, etc. disclosed herein are example in nature and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Similarly, the terms “can” and “may” and their variants are intended to be non-limiting, such that recitation that an embodiment can or may comprise certain elements or features does not exclude other embodiments of the present technology that do not contain those elements or features. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The headings (such as “Background” and “Summary”) and sub-headings used herein are intended only for general organization of topics within the present technology, and are not intended to limit the disclosure of the present technology or any aspect thereof. In particular, subject matter disclosed in the “Background” may include novel technology and may not constitute a recitation of prior art. Subject matter disclosed in the “Summary” is not an exhaustive or complete disclosure of the entire scope of the technology or any embodiments thereof.

Disclosure of values and/or ranges of values for specific parameters (such as dimensions, etc.) are not exclusive of other values and ranges of values useful herein. It is envisioned that two or more specific exemplified values for a given parameter may define endpoints for a range of values that may be claimed for the parameter. For example, if Parameter X is exemplified herein to have value A and also exemplified to have value Z, it is envisioned that parameter X may have a range of values from about A to about Z. Similarly, it is envisioned that disclosure of two or more ranges of values for a parameter (whether such ranges are nested, overlapping or distinct) subsume all possible combination of ranges for the value that might be claimed using endpoints of the disclosed ranges. For example, if parameter X is exemplified herein to have values in the range of 1-10, or 2-9, or 3-8, it is also envisioned that Parameter X may have other ranges of values including 1-9, 1-8, 1-3, 1-2,2-10, 2-8,2-3, 3-10, and 3-9. 

1. A storage component for a storage system, the storage component comprising at least one or more microcapsules applied to the storage component, wherein the at least one or more microcapsules include an aromatic encapsulate configured to release a fragrance and/or chemical to thereby associate the fragrance and/or chemical with the storage component.
 2. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the storage component includes a wire structure, a laminated storage structure, and/or a fabric drawer.
 3. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the storage component includes a wire structure, and wherein the wire structure includes a wire shelf and/or a wire basket.
 4. The storage component of claim 1, comprising multiple microcapsules applied to the storage component, wherein the multiple microcapsules define a powder coating applied to the storage component.
 5. The storage component of claim 4, wherein the powder coating substantially coats the storage component.
 6. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the at least one or more microcapsules are formed from a cedar oil emulsion.
 7. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the aromatic encapsulate includes a cedar chemical and/or fragrance.
 8. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the at least one or more microcapsules are applied to the storage component during manufacture of the storage component.
 9. The storage component of any one of claim 1, wherein the at least one or more microcapsules are sprayed onto the storage component.
 10. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the at least one or more microcapsules are applied to the storage component electrostatically.
 11. The storage component of claim 1, wherein the aromatic encapsulate is configured to release the fragrance and/or chemical over time.
 12. A method for associating a fragrance and/or chemical with a storage component, the method comprising encapsulating at least one or more desired fragrances and/or chemicals in multiple microcapsules, and coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules, wherein the encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals are configured to be released from the microcapsules to thereby associate the fragrances and/or chemicals with the storage component.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the storage component includes a shelf, basket, drawer, wire structure, wire shelf, wire basket, laminated storage structure, laminated shelf, fabric basket, fabric drawer, shelves, hooks, hang rods, bars, containers, a wire shelf, and/or a laminated shelf.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the microcapsules include a cedar oil emulsion, and wherein the at least one or more encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals include a cedar chemical and/or fragrance.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules includes coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules during manufacture of the storage component.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules includes spraying the microcapsules onto exterior surfaces of at least part of the storage component.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules includes applying the microcapsules to exterior surfaces of at least part of the storage component electrostatically.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals are configured to be released from the microcapsules over time.
 19. The method of claim 12, further comprising selling the storage component coated with the microcapsules to an end user and/or customer.
 20. A wire storage component for a closet storage system, the wire storage component comprising an aromatic powder coating, wherein the aromatic powder coating includes multiple cedar oil emulsion microcapsules configured to release cedar chemicals and/or fragrances from the wire storage component to thereby associate the cedar fragrances with the wire storage component.
 21. The wire storage component of claim 20, wherein the aromatic powder coating covers substantially all exterior surfaces of the wire storage component.
 22. The wire storage component of claim 20, wherein the multiple cedar oil emulsion microcapsules are configured to release cedar chemicals and/or fragrances from the wire storage component over time.
 23. A method for associating a fragrance and/or chemical with a storage component, the method comprising encapsulating at least one or more desired fragrances and/or chemicals in multiple microcapsules, whereby the microcapsules are suitable for coating at least part of the storage component with the microcapsules, and wherein the encapsulated fragrances and/or chemicals are configured to be released from the microcapsules to thereby associate the fragrances and/or chemicals with the storage component. 